To the Editor: In her Medical News & Perspectives
article, Ms Lamberg1 described the current
study by Czeisler et al investigating the numerous ways that residents are
affected by working long hours. My main concern is the potential negative
impact that this study will have on the medical profession, for it will undoubtedly
lead many to believe that the hours residents are required to work need to
be reduced even further. A similar phenomenon is occurring in Britain, in
which the European Working Time Regulation has recently required that the
hours in which residents work be reduced. The resulting negative effects on
surgical trainees has been described by Spitz et al.2